The question has been swirling ever since Francis laid his hands Sunday on the head of a young man after celebrating Mass in St. Peter's Square. The young man heaved deeply a half-dozen times, convulsed and shook, and then slumped in his wheelchair as Francis prayed over him.

(snip)

Fueling the speculation is Francis' obsession with the devil, a frequent subject of his homilies.

My thoughts exactly. Satan is a real individual motivated by pure malignant evil. We are lucky that we are facing one of his lesser followers today - one who is also motivated by pure malignant evil, but much less intelligent and energetic than the real thing.

3
posted on 05/21/2013 6:41:56 AM PDT
by Pollster1
("Shall not be infringed" is unambiguous.)

I grew up in a Catholic family but would now be identified (as much as I dislike the negative connotations appurtenant to it) as a ‘born-again Christian’.

Pope Francis is, IMHO, spot on with his focusing on Satan and his effects on humanity. He recognizes the source of many of the world's problems. Not that all evils come from Satan or his minions, but many of them certainly do.

I have been impressed from the beginning with his focus on the servant nature of Jesus and our responsibility to care for the poor among us.

5
posted on 05/21/2013 6:43:54 AM PDT
by Quality_Not_Quantity
(Liars use facts when the truth doesn't suit their purposes.)

I focused on the same thing. The AP seems amused that the Pope is “obsessed with Satan.” In their world, where only the ignorant and unenlightened believe in the Devil, the Pope should be more focused on advocating amnesty and World Socialism.

7
posted on 05/21/2013 6:59:25 AM PDT
by Opinionated Blowhard
("When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.")

Hell and the devil fell out of favor after WWII, because of the liberal embrace of religious ecumenism, mirroring the European sentiment that “differences between peoples result in war”, so that these differences should be erased.

Yes, they got both of those things wrong.

Some of the more repugnant outgrowths included moral relativism, socialist-religious liberation theology, and the Judeo-Christian adoption of Asiatic and even pagan religious theories, along with the dismissal of their most important theological concepts.

Thus the idea of Hell and the devil, as a perpetual symbol of evil and the enemy of God, Heaven and mankind, was a barrier to creating a more generic world. There could be no evil or enemies.

Oddly enough, a comic in The New Yorker said it best, with an ornate picture of two great open doors at the Vatican, with a book carrying demon walking through, as two Cardinals looked on disapprovingly, with one commenting, “I think this ecumenism has gone too far.”

An obsession is a preoccupation that completely takes over a persons thoughts. An obsession is considered a psychological disease as in “obsessive-compulsive disorder.” The implication is that someone who is obsessed is delusional and incapable of rational, intelligent thought or action because he is so fixated on the object of this obsession.

Pope Francis is right to be concerned about evil in the world. The attacks on Pope Francis and the dishonest accusation that he has an “obsession with the devil” indicates that the author either is either unable to understand the meaning of words and use them correctly or that the author is evil.

My owners manual tells me that we do battle against wickedness in the “spiritual realm”. But good news...Christ Jesus has done it ALL. We have the authority as children of the MOST HIGH to take charge over the devil and his minions.

Eph6 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day

.
We are already doing it. Where do you think much of our tax dollars go?

Do some volunteer work in an American social ministry and observe many of our “poor” driving SUVs, being overweight, living in air-conditioned apartments, watching cable TV, talking over cell phones, having kids from several different fathers and schedule their lives so as to visit various different social ministries and having no intention to look for work.

Our “poor” are not all parasites, but many are.

20
posted on 05/21/2013 7:51:16 AM PDT
by 353FMG
( I do not say whether I am serious or sarcastic -- I respect FReepers too much.)

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.